Whose President?

My wife and I went out to dinner, after Mass this afternoon. At the restaurant, Amanda, part of the staff, asked if "I was for Obama." I am, obviously, a known Republican and no RIRO.

I said that yes I was for Obama. If Obama fails, we all fail.

The incoming President will face a lot of important issues on 20 January.

• The Economy--I want my meager 401K to not become even more meager. What President Obama does will influence that. But, more important are the jobs of my neighbors. A serious recession could find 12% of the population out of work. That would be bad for all of us.


• Iraq--Iraq seems to be on the right track and its success is mostly in the hands of the Iraqis. What President Obama does about the drawdown could influence long term prospects in not only Iraq, but also in other parts of the Middle East.


• GITMO--Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, as it is known, is a problem. President Obama promised to shut down the detention center there, but that will mean that he needs to figure out what to do with the 250 some people still in detention there (his staff needs to develop options and more options and then he needs to pick one). This will have no easy answers, but decisions have to be taken.

This list could go on, but the point is that if President Elect Obama has a successful term in office all Americans benefit. Some more and some less, but all to some degree.

This isn't Europe (with all due apologies). We elect a President, even by a narrow margin, and he is our President. That old line, "The King is dead, long live the King," applies in this situation. I was not one of those with a 01/20/09 bumper sticker. I think Geo Bush has done a pretty good job, everything considered, but I also know he has some warts. But, at noon on the 20th of January, Barack Hussein Obama will be my President. As my President he may be subject to some criticism by me, but that is all part of the game. But, don't let some outsider, someone from Europe or Asia or Latin America or Canada tell me that he is bad and should be run out of town on a rail. He is MY President--may he live long and prosper--so that I may live long and prosper.

Then we will look at it again in 2012.

Regards -- Cliff